Oct 15, 2018 10:13 am | Diane Wessel
Ask your legislators to close the Dark Store Loophole!
Dark Store Loopholes allow big box retailers to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes. ACT NOW! Ask lawmakers to CLOSE the Dark Store Loopholes and STOP allowing the shift of the property tax burden to residential property owners.
There are currently 2 bills being introduced by the Legislative Council Study Committee on Property Tax Assessment Practices. One requires commercial property owners to provide information to assessors and if they do not, they give up their right to challenge the assessment. The other requires other taxing bodies (county, school district, etc.) to share in the municipality's legal costs in defending these lawsuits.
While it is a step in the right direction, neither bill closes the loophole, and the committee decided to not introduce legislation to close the loophole because the citizen members of the committee were equally representative of business groups opposing closing the loophole and municipal representatives who support closing the loophole.
Fact: Dark store loopholes allow big box retailers to avoid paying their fair share of property taxes. Fact: Wisconsin homeowers already pay 68% of property taxes and may pay even more soon! Fact: Big box retailers use more municipal services like police and fire. Fact: Closing dark store loopholes has broad bipartisan support, but bills need to be allowed a vote. Fact: There have been over 200 such lawsuits in Wisconsin. Fact: Nearly 60 towns, cities, and villages in Wisconsin have paid REFUNDS to big-box stores.
Fact: The top 3 retailers with the most lawsuits filed are Menards, Walgreens, and Walmart. Fact: There are 67 open cases in Wisconsin with a potential lose of $773.7M in taxable property value. Fact: Walmart, Bank Mutual, Huntington Bank, Shopko, Menards, and Woodman's are suing to reduce their property taxes in Bellevue, Green Bay, Suamico, DePere, and Howard.
Contact your legislators. Ask them to support the bills that are proposed to be introduced and ask for a bill that CLOSES the loophole and STOP allowing the shift of the property tax burden to homeowners!
|
|
|
Oct 12, 2018 01:14 pm | Diane Wessel
Fall Brush Pickup
Fall brush pickup is Monday, October 15 for all areas west of Main Street. Brush pickup for Main Street and east of Main was October 8.
Please observe the following rules when placing materials out for collection: - Brush up to 3" in diameter is acceptable in lengths no greater than 12'.
- Brush up to 6" in diameter is acceptable in lengths no greater than 8'.
- Brush greater than 6" in diameter cannot be accepted at the curb. Larger brush including stumps up to 12" in diameter at ground level can be taken to the yard waste site.
- Avoid cutting brush shorter than needed as fewer pieces is less handling for crews.
- Lay brush in piles at the curb with the branches laying parallel to the street. All branches should be laying in the same direction.
- Do Not place Leaves or Garden Waste in with the pile of branches
- Please do not put brush at the curb any sooner than one week prior to the collection day.
- Brush may not be picked up all in one day but it will be picked up the week of. Brush however must be at the curb prior to the Monday that brush is scheduled to be picked up. Brush not at the curb by the time crews come past will be left or will be billed for us to come back at a later date.
- Lawn wastes (grass, leaves and garden materials) will not be taken. These materials need to be taken to the yard waste site by yourselves.
- Clearing of brush on lots for the intent to build or sell the lot will not be picked up.The intent of the pickup is to provide for disposal of brush generated as a result of routine yard maintenance. If excessive amounts of brush are placed at the curb, the brush may be refused or a fee will be charged for the work. Entire trees cut down are the homeowners responsibility to remove and cleanup.
The Village currently has no Leaf pickup. Please do not rake your leaves into the curbs. This causes water backups at the storm catch basins, promotes algae growth and is a violation of municipal law.
|
|
|
Oct 12, 2018 12:53 pm | Diane Wessel
Village of Bellevue: October 8 and 10 Village Board meeting recap
The board continued the review and modifications of the draft 2019 village budget. The 1st
budget worksession was held on October 8, covered the general fund (standard village operations) and resulted in modifications to the draft budget including: the elimination of the following proposed new project/programs/purchases: community engagement platform, Microsoft Office 365, digital camera installation, one speed board (proposal was for 2), Josten Park lower bleachers replacement, and playground cable net replacement. Proposed increases or maintained levels of existing projects and programs that were reduced include: labor attorney fees (to more closely reflect expected costs), phragmites treatment (reduced to reflect actual program costs which were lower than initially projected and does not reflect a reduction in the program), Rockin in Josten (reduced contracted fees for bands, not elimination of the program), vehicle operations and maintenance (based upon current available balance), breathalyzer (purchase will be made with 2018 funds instead), and wages (reduced from 2019 proposed increase, not a reduction in wages). And lastly, the projected revenue from transit was increased to reflect closer to what is anticipated. On October 10, the board continued its budget work and reviewed the utilities budget (stormwater, sewer, water), sanitation, and capital projects. These modifications to the budget will be incorporated into a revised draft budget, which will be available to the public and presented at the November 14 public hearing.
At its October 10 board meeting, the Bellevue Village Board held 3 public hearings:
1. Conditional use permit for Victory Tabernacle Church of God at 2088 Allouez Avenue. The request was approved unanimously and allows for a church at the location. This may seem rather odd because the church has been at this location since 1994, however a permit was never granted. This request brings the existing church into compliance with the Village’s zoning regulations and allows the church to construct a 3,000 square foot addition at the rear of the building.
2. The board unanimously approved a 32-unit multi-family development near Verlin Road and Bellevue Street. At the hearing, neighboring property owners supported the development but requested that storm water issues be addressed in the design of the development. The development is required to meet all state and village development standards that include lighting, landscaping, parking, stormwater management, etc. The development will also be required to include a sidewalk connection to the public sidewalk.
3. The board also unanimously approved the preliminary subdivision plat for Willow Glen, a mixed- use development consisting of 155 single-family residential lots and 6 commercial lots on 65+ acres at the northeast corner of Huron Road and Willow Road. The homes would range in size from 1,561-2,647 square feet and the average sale price of the homes is expected to be about $340K. The planned community is comparable to The Preserve in Green Bay: https://www.epconcommunities.com/wi/green-bay/the-preserve/
|
|
|
Oct 12, 2018 10:13 am | Karen Simons
In-Person Absentee Voting Begins October 15, 2018
In-person absentee voting begins on Monday, October 15th, Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Village Office (2828 Allouez Avenue). The deadline for voting an absentee ballot at the Village Office is 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election, November 2, 2018. Please remember your Photo ID.
You may make application for an absentee ballot in person, by mail, by fax, by email or at MyVote.wi.gov.
|
|
|
Oct 09, 2018 07:55 am | Jared Heyn
New GIS Applications Available on the Village Website
The Village of Bellevue’s Community Development Department is pleased to offer a new interactive mapping application on its website for existing and potential residents, businesses, and customers.
This useful technology can help you access information about Public Works projects, Community Development/Economic Development questions, park amenities, voting information, addresses, tax parcels, business information, streets, and much more. The web mapping site provides geographic information from various sources including the Village of Bellevue, Brown County, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The goal of Bellevue's public GIS is to provide our residents, developers, and public agencies with easy access to Bellevue specific geographic information via the Internet or mobile device.The following web links are Bellevue’s web browser, mobile, and interactive mapping systems.
|
|
|
|
